Creation's Heartbeat

Library Journal

Jungian philosopher Leonard Meeting a Madwoman, LJ 2/1/93 takes the reader on a spiritual journey to Lapland, Alaska, and Siberia to run with the reindeer. Using images from a dream, Leonard conjures the Reindeer Woman, a free spirit and nonpredator image, and ties together inspirational writings, stories, fables, and legends from nomadic peoples of the north. Along the way, she interprets related poems from Auden and Rilke and modern films such as The Yearling and The Deer Hunter, which consider human interaction with deer. The deer becomes a spiritual power that can guide our lives; for example, pregnant reindeer, which travel north to deliver their young and face perils along the way from predators while constantly hunting for food, become a metaphor for the creative struggle of humans. Leonard's musings are interesting but not essential for public libraries.-L. Kriz, Sioux City P.L., Ia.

Patricia Monaghan

Leonard, author of several books that conflate women's spirituality and Jungian psychology, weaves a magical tale of questing and transformation. Inspired by a dream of white reindeer, she sets out to understand the animal's complex spiritual meaning and to visit shamanistic reindeer tribes in their arctic domain. Some of the most beautiful passages in this inspiring book are those that record Leonard's encounters with the reindeer and the native peoples who live with and depend upon the animals in Siberia, Lapland, and Alaska. As she describes her voyage of discovery through both books and landscapes, Leonard draws us into the inner meanings of an animal whose debased images fly across Christmas cards, and she discloses the gifts of the reindeer--the strength of their woundedness, their messages of transformation, and the spiritual ecology they represent.